briansd1 wrote:…….If the

[patientrenter]

[quote=briansd1]…….If the government had not gone on a building spree, deflation would have been much worse in Japan.[/quote]

Deflation in Japan?

Let’s look at the actual numbers. Here is the consumer price index for Japan, from the official Japanese government website http://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/ListE.do?bid=000001015975&cycode=0 :

1980 76.9
1981 80.6
1982 82.9
1983 84.4
1984 86.3
1985 88.1
1986 88.6
1987 88.7
1988 89.3
1989 91.3
1990 94.1
1991 97.3
1992 98.9
1993 100.2
1994 100.8
1995 100.7
1996 100.8
1997 102.7
1998 103.3
1999 103
2000 102.2
2001 101.5
2002 100.6
2003 100.3
2004 100.3
2005 100
2006 100.3
2007 100.3
2008 101.7
2009 100.3
2010 99.6

When I look at these values, I see price stability in Japan from 1993 on. The cumulative deflation from 1993 to 2010, a period of 17 years, adds up to a grand total of 0.6%. That’s 0.036% per year, which is barely discernible.

I love the (Rich-inspired) motto at piggington: Bring facts.